Thursday, March 31, 2011

When I travel to conventions I have a whole list of dos and do nots to avoid getting the PostCon Crud. With MegaCon being a "local" show, I think I may have slipped up a bit. For the first time in a number of years I have the PostCon Crud. No fun. I've been fighting it most of the week but it is winning. So I give you a sketchbook day with a doodle I did earlier when I had the energy. Not much energy now that I look at the piece, but you got to take the good with the bad I suppose. :)

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Just playing around in my sketchbook with some Copic markers. At MegaCon, I sat next to Michael Dooney and saw the great sketches he was doing using the gray markers. It got me interested in playing with them again. So this is the doodle today.

And in case anyone missed it before, here are some recent posts that you might be interesting:

Art of Gene Gonzales Volume 2 - You can order my sketchbook full of Canson Cuties and their male counterparts. (I believe they were dubbed "Canson Hotties" by Erica) :)

Monday, March 28, 2011

It's that time folks! Pittsburgh ComiCon is April 15-17 and it is time to open up the advance sketch list. I will work on this list leading up to the convention. Especially the more complicated pieces. There are a few changes to the process this year so please look over the details provided below :)

Payment: Here is the big changes this year. There will be three options for payment:

PayPal: You may pay in advance for your request using PayPal. Please contact me first with your request before you send money.

Credit Card at the Con: This is the first year I will be accepting major credit cards at a convention. I have signed up with Square (www.squareup.com) in order to do so. Fast and secure.

Cash: You can pay for the art when you pick it up.

Special Note: I will only be doing inked sketches at the show. It's was a bit much last year to bring paint and pencils and a variety of boards and brushes with me on the plane. So if you have a request for a Canson piece or a painted piece, please order now and I will bring the finished art with me.Please send your questions and requests with "Pittsburgh ComiCon Sketch List" in the subject line of your email. This will really help me keep track of everything.

This advance list is only for those attending Pittsburgh ComiCon 2011 in person. I do request that if you are on my list and are not going to make it, please let me know. And if possible, please pick up your artwork as soon as you can when you arrive at the convention. Or pay for your spot on the list, whichever applies.

I may ask for reference if I don't know the character or if I can't find it on the web at the show.

You can email me links to references before the show. I can alway print them out and take them with me if I need to .

An advantage to getting on the list early gives me some time to think about your request(s), bounce ideas around in my head, maybe doodle ideas in my sketchbook, and possibly show up at the con with your finished piece. There is a finite amount of requests I can take. I do not know what that number is because I don't know the requests. So sign up early and often. :)

If you have any questions about the sketch list, please ask. And even if you are not getting something but will be at the show, please drop by and say "hi".

Other Convention Stuff

I will have other original art at the show, some you have seen here on this blog. I will also have my new sketchbook. This book will feature commissions/pin-ups done on color Canson paper. I will also have prints for sale.

This was a lot of information to cover. If anything is confusing to you, let me know and I will do my best to clarify. And please excuse any typos. :)

I hope you have been keeping up with my Twitter feed to the right of this post to see photos of sketches I am posting from the convention floor. If not, you are missing quite a few.

This show was a lot of fun. There were several people that came up to tell me that they frequent this blog. That was great to hear. Not everyone posts a comment and that's fine. I do see the numbers of visitors on my counter so I know there are more of you out there, but it's nice to put a smiling face to those numbers.

Thanks to everyone that stopped by my table to chat and buy stuff. I love meeting new people and for an artist who is holed up in a studio day in and day out, conventions provide that nice bit of interaction with the outside world. Starbucks does too but that's different.

And thanks to everyone on the advance sketch list. It's nice to walk into a show and have pieces ready for you. You take the mystery and stress out of wondering if travel and convention expenses will be met. It allows me to relax and enjoy the show. And that helps more than you know.

Speaking of advance sketch lists...I will be opening the list for the Pittsburgh ComicCon tomorrow. And there might be another list in the mix too. Check it out tomorrow.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Here is a prelim for a commission piece I finished today. Actually I finished the last of my advance sketch list today. In addition to a lot of other work. But now I am packed up and ready to head out in the morning. If you are going to MegaCon this weekend, drop by my table and say "HI!". I will be in Section Black, Table 12.

And if you are not going to be at the show, keep checking here and on my photo blog for updates of artwork from the show.

I picked up an Apple iPad the day they went on sale. I download Sketchbook Pro for the iPad and have been playing around with it. I have used the same program for the Mac, but the app for the iPad is a bit different. The iPad isn't pressure sensitive and drawing with my finger is a bit odd. So I bought a stylus that has a conductive end and it works pretty good. There is still a learning curve to get over but it's fun to draw on the iPad. Above are a couple of quick sketches. Just trying out different brushes and learning to move around in the program.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

A mix of images that I did today. A couple are digital and the others were done in my sketchbook while waiting for my wife's car to be serviced at the dealership. It's going to be a few more days of sketchbook material leading up to MegaCon on Friday. I will post sketches, paintings, Canson Cuties, from the show starting on Friday, so that can be something to look forward to. Oh, another thing to look forward to...

The new sketchbooks arrived this afternoon! I still have to check each one but tomorrow I will post all you need to know about ordering the books. In the meantime I leave you with this photo:

Monday, March 21, 2011

I'm not sure how I will finish this. I would kind of like to paint it. Give it the full treatment. But that won't happen this week. I am currently trying to get ahead of my workload and take care of my advance sketch list for this weeks MegaCon. So Tigra might have to take the backseat for a week or so.

This was done with violet Col-Erase pencil on an 11" x 17" sheet of copy paper.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Here is Medusa, fresh from her hair stylist. This was done in pencil, ink and fluid acrylics on a sheet of 11" x 17" 200# watercolor paper.

There are five days until MegaCon. And there are still a few more spots on my advance sketch list. I will still have a list at the convention but this is an opportunity to get on early and possibly have the sketch ready when you drop by my table. See details here: MegaCon 2011 Advance Sketch List post

I will be sharing a table with Joe Pekar once again this year. So if you are going to be at the show, stop by and say "HI". Both of us will have original art and new sketchbooks. We are in section Black, table 12.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

After the Batgirl piece yesterday, I thought I would look to the Marvel Universe for someone to draw. And the Enchantress came to mind. I have always liked the wacky leggings on this version of the character.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Today has been rough creatively. Drawing has been an unpleasant grind. These kind of days happen from time to time but I always have to work through it. What might take three hours to do takes six. But it still gets done. I'm hoping tomorrow is better and smoother.

The image above is from my sketchbook. I drew this about an hour ago. I had been reading an Atom story from the 1970s and always liked his telephone trick. I think they once described him as "swimming" with the electrons in the phone signal. So I played with that idea in the pose.

Friday, March 11, 2011

I only had a couple of hours to work today before I headed out to stand/sit in line for the iPad2. But I did finish up the panel this image is in and since I shared the rough, I thought you might like to see the finish. :)

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

I am still working on my own project when I have the time. I had hoped to be further along than this, but these things take time. One part of the process that has been frustrating for me is the drawing. Not drawing in and of itself, more to the point, digital or traditional.

The digital process explained: The above image is a good example of how I am working on my pages. I do a rough layout (blue) of all the panels for the page in Photoshop. I then put in the rough dialog. After that I take different elements from the page, in this case the main character, and put them in their own file/document. I tighten it up just a bit using a different color line than the initial rough. I keep doing this until I am happy with the final line art. I will then copy and paste that figure back into the panel of the page. Later it will be colored with the rest of the page. When I don't feel like messing with line art, I paint the backgrounds. In this case, I have digitally painted the backgrounds in all the panels for this page. I shared this part of the process here.

Depending on the day of week, I want to draw digital. Other days I want to draw with a pencil. Both have it's positives and it's negatives. Some times the two can work hand in hand. Other times, not so much. And so goes the inner battle of creating.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

You get a "Paninja" At least that's what Shelby says and she should know because she created it. Here's the backstory to that.

Shelby is the middle daughter of my friends Tom and Anne-Marie. Shelby went to summer camp last year. At summer camp there were two bunkhouses. Each with a theme/mascot. One was the Pirates and the other was the Ninjas. The problem was that Shelby had friends in both bunkhouses and came up with a name for herself that would reflect that. Thus was born The Paninja! Friend to both Pirate and Ninja alike. Soon a secret alliance was created of other like-minded campers. The ranks of this secret society grew but the core numbered three.

Shelby shared this story with her parents, and Tom wanted to make the idea into a real image. But completely in secret. Shelby would have no idea. He enlisted my help to develop the image. We bounced ideas back and forth until the final idea was formed.

Above is the final pencils for the piece. And below, the final inks.

And below is the final image. The color, background and skull, hook, and crossbones were done digitally. I altered this image a bit to fit nicely on a 18" x 24" poster that Tom had printed. He surprised Shelby with the glossy poster yesterday and the image was a hit. Next up are some t-shirts and hoodies.

Monday, March 7, 2011

I posted a rough sketch of this piece a little while ago. I finally got the time to work on it yesterday and finish it up today. I don't draw Spider-Man very often and I wasn't a Marvel Comics reader until I saw George Perez's first run on The Avengers, so I had to pull some reference out for this piece. I went back to the Superman vs. Spider-Man Treasury comic from 1976. I thought it was a nice, timeless, iconic version of Spidey to use. And yes, my copy is the one I bought at the newsstand when it came out. It was even signed two years later by writer Gerry Conway. Gerry was doing a signing at Passport Comics in North Hollywood in 1978. He was the first comic book professional I met. I had him sign my treasury, a couple comics, and bought the original script for the Justice League of America issue where Zatanna joins the team. Before the issue came out!!! Passport was my first real comic book store. I had to take two buses to get to the store from Burbank but it was an adventure. After loading up on comics, I would sit at the back of the bus and read all the way home. Or until I got motion sickness from reading in a moving vehicle. Good times. :)

This artwork was done at the request of Shane Simek for an online art auction to help a friend in need. For more information check out www.cranboyz.blogspot.com.

This piece was done in ink and fluid acrylics on an 11" x 17" sheet of light blue Canson Mi-Teintes art board.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Another Sketchbook Day. Just some doodles from a page that had doodles from a week ago. New doodles, old doodles. All the live long day. :)

The cool part of this post is we have a guest artist. Gary Peiffer has been part of this blog since the very early days. Recently he told me that he wanted to see a turn around of one of my tikis because he does woodcarving and he wanted to take a shot at it. I posted the turn around a little while back and then last week he sent me pictures. WooHoo! It's a wood carved tiki action figure with moveable arms!

To go with the pictures below, I asked Gary a couple of questions about his wood carving background. He told me in an email that he has been carving off and on since the early 1990s. He has had some training from instructors and some help from members of a carving club he belongs to. Typically he carves in basswood because the tight grain makes it easy to carve with a sharp knife. And he said all future tiki guys will be carved in basswood. That's right, he said "future tiki guys". :) To see more of Gary's work, go to his website at www.GaryMPeiffer.com. There are some amazing pieces on his site. Thanks for sharing your talent with us Gary, and thanks for picking one of my tiki guys for your subject. This guy looks great!!!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Just another Sketchbook Friday folks. Spent most of the day working on things I can't share yet. I was also going to have a guest artist today, but didn't get everything together. So that will be pushed off until tomorrow or Sunday.

The MegaCon requests are coming in. Both Canson and inked pieces are popular. If you are going to be at the show and want on the list, take a look at yesterday's post for details.

This weekend I will be working on a piece of art for a fund raiser. Need to get that finished up. And Monday I am back on some color illustrations for one of the grammar books I am working on. Got the okay to go to final art this afternoon. All is good on the Sunshine Coast folks. :)

Thursday, March 3, 2011

It's that time folks! MegaCon in Orlando, Florida (March 25-27) is my first convention of 2011 and it is time to open up the advance sketch list. I will actually work on this list leading up to the convention. Especially the more complicated pieces. There are a few changes to the process this year so please look over the details provided below :)

(Knowing the character request in advance will allow me to select the right color paper from my files.)

Payment: Here is the big changes this year. There will be three options for payment:

PayPal: You may pay in advance for your request using PayPal. Please contact me first with your request before you send money.

Credit Card at the Con: This is the first year I will be accepting major credit cards at a convention. I have signed up with Square (www.squareup.com) in order to do so. Fast and secure.

Cash: You can pay for the art when you pick it up. I know, cash and carry, how quaint. ;)

Please send your questions and requests with "MegaCon Sketch List" in the subject line of your email. This will really help me keep track of everything.

This advance list is only for those attending MegaCon 2011 in person. I do request that if you are on my list and are not going to make it, please let me know. And if possible, please pick up your artwork as soon as you can when you arrive at the convention. Or pay for your spot on the list, whichever applies.

I may ask for reference if I don't know the character or if I can't find it on the web at the show.

You can email me links to references before the show. I can alway print them out and take them with me if I need to .

An advantage to getting on the list early gives me some time to think about your request(s), bounce ideas around in my head, maybe doodle ideas in my sketchbook, and possibly show up at the con with your finished piece. There is a finite amount of requests I can take. I do not know what that number is because I don't know the requests. So sign up early and often. :)

I will be sharing a table with Joe Pekar again. I believe we are in the same spot as last time (Black section, table 12), but I will confirm that as we get closer to the show. I am really looking forward to this show. There are so many of you that I only get to see at MegaCon so it really is like hanging out with friends.

If you have any questions about the sketch list, please ask. And even if you are not getting something but will be at the show, please drop by and say "hi".

Other Convention Stuff

I will have other original art at the show, some you have seen here on this blog. I will also have my new sketchbook. This book will feature commissions/pin-ups done on color Canson paper. I should have a box of the books in the next week or two. When I do I will post about it.

This was a lot of information to cover. If anything is confusing to you, let me know and I will do my best to clarify. And please excuse any typos. :)

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

This is the third of three images I have created for my lovely wife Deena. She is getting a new tattoo and I am designing it. You can see the first one here and the second one here. Deena has gone over these three designs and she has picked the first one. The next step for me is to work out some extra elements to flesh out the tattoo and to create a color piece.

In other news, all the artwork from the Conventionless Convention Sketches that haven't shipped will be shipping tomorrow. I will click the little box that will give you an email notification that your package is on it's way. Thanks again everyone!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

This is the last of the 12 Conventionless Convention Sketches. (Yes, it says 11 in the title but Batgirl and Robin were two combined into one piece.) Wonder Woman was the request from Michael (http://swanshadowblog.com). Michael wanted to combine a couple of different eras of Diana's costume. The skirt from her first appearance with the lace up slippers of the 1950's costume. And it all works. I personally liked drawing the eagle breast plate again, instead of the stylized (and marketable) "WW". Going back to the early Diana made me want to draw her joyful. So I put her on Paradise Island playing bullets and bracelets with her Amazon sisters. She is going to be happy. :)

Thanks again for the commission Michael. I hope it is a welcome addition to your Wonder Woman gallery.

And once again, thanks to everyone who commissioned a piece from me for this latest run of Conventionless Convention Sketches. All were fun for me, and I hope fun for you.

For those going to MegaCon at the end of the month, I will be posting details for the MegaCon Advance Sketch List in the next day or two.